How has management education evolved since you started out as an associate dean almost 20 years ago? “I would highlight three main shifts. First, management education is no longer just about the MBA. Business schools now offer a broader portfolio of specialised master’s degrees, part-time courses and technology‑enabled programmes. “Second is globalisation. Around 20 years ago, a handful of top business schools in the US and a few in Europe attracted students from around the world. Now there are incredible schools throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America competing for talent with strong value propositions. Management education has become a truly global marketplace, driving innovation in curricula and programme design. “The third change is on the career side. Graduating from a top business school no longer immediately guarantees an extraordinary job with a strong return on investment. Competition is fierce – not only among business school
You came into management education with a PhD in political science; how does that political economy lens shape the way you are equipping executives with the skills to navigate today’s fragmented, post-globalisation world? “I think management education – particularly in the West – has done leaders a big disservice over several decades by painting a picture of business as primarily an economic agent. Effectively, we told our students: focus on the customer, focus on the shareholder and ignore the rest. Everything else is a distraction, especially politics. “That’s just not helpful, because organisations are political actors. They make incredibly important decisions that shape people’s lives. I’ve always believed that business leaders need to understand the social and political context in which they operate – my research and teaching have focused on giving them the tools needed to think about that context systematically and use it to shape their strategies. “Today, I engage with leaders around how to navigate the geopolitical context – from the politics of the
graduates, but with people who have pursued other forms of education or developed other skills and credentials. So business schools have to work incredibly hard to help graduates stand out.” Given the growing corporate and political backlash against diversity initiatives, how can business
energy transition to trade and heightened security concerns. Of course, I wish the world were a little simpler and leaders didn’t have to spend quite as much time worrying about politics. But you can get good at this; some of the more successful leaders today understand the political context and
IMD prides itself on how quickly, flexibly and pragmatically it can adapt to address the evolving issues faced by global enterprises
can articulate the value of an enterprise to a community, a country or a region. That demand is not going to go away.” The impact of AI on postgraduate management education has been well documented; how is IMD adapting its curriculum to cultivate those uniquely human capabilities that technology cannot replace? “I’m very careful about declaring definitively what AI cannot do and which human skills and abilities it cannot replace. We’re weaving AI into our programmes as a set of tools, while also discussing what the technology is currently capable of and what that means for society, business management and leadership. We’re trying to figure this out together. “What we know for sure is that there is going to be a lot of change and leaders will have to continuously adapt. The ability to learn and be agile is perhaps the most important skill we can instil in our students and executive education participants. Critical judgment and the ability to relate to other humans remain incredibly important, but AI can also be a powerful tool for framing and helping you make decisions.
schools best prepare future leaders to embed DE&I principles in a robust and impactful way? “There is clearly a backlash against DE&I in some parts of the world, but it’s important not to overstate or generalise this. It’s not happening everywhere equally and it doesn’t change the fact that diversity and inclusion remain incredibly important. “Diverse and inclusive teams perform better. Your leadership team ought to reflect the diversity of your staff, your customer base and your global footprint. You cannot be an effective leader in the 21st century if you don’t appreciate the value of diversity, cannot create inclusive teams in which everybody can contribute, or don’t understand how people’s different life paths have shaped how they approach issues. “What I think we’re seeing less of – and it’s a good thing in my opinion – is a sort of performative DE&I. There is instead a recognition that diverse and inclusive organisations perform at a higher level. Leaders need to understand how to bring people together and leverage different backgrounds for greater creativity and impact.”
14 Ambition • ISSUE 5 • 2026
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